Ballasting with sand

[Blind Bruce]

Someone in a recent post, suggested ballasting with coarse, sand blasting sand. Would this not destroy the wheel bearings if it should work loose in the future?
Kinda scares me.
BB

[bogp40]

Black Beauty or any other silica base wont' be any different than sand. Woodland Scenics I guess you could grind up walnut shells if you look at it that way.
Bob K.

[selector]

Depends on what you mean by 'coarse', BB. If by coarse you mean less than 0.5 mm, perhaps, but I don't see how. Will there be strong air currents nearby? What would free up the sand from the gluing that you would have undertaken to keep the track and ballast put? If you mean grains around the 1-3 mm size, I still see no problem.

I used beach sand that I rinsed and demagnetized first. The grains are abourT1- 1.5 mm, and they stay where I put them once I glued them down.

[Blind Bruce]

Selector,
Now I remember. It was the motor magnets that attracted the sand. How do you demagnetize sand?
BB

[selector]

Best way...really...is to get other sand once you know you have the problem.

If you have a strong hankering to use the sand that you are thinking of, spread it thin (1/16") and run a magnet over it held about 1/4" above the sand. Be meticulous about sweeping over all the exposed sand. Clean off the magnet frequently...f nothing else, it reinforces the notion that you are doing something worthwhile!

You may notice that the sand loses some of its colour or appeal due to what you have removed. C'est la guerre.